Wow! Has this thread got overly complicated. Notwithstanding Drodz's knowledge of
batteries, there are a few mistakes (because of the confusing posts) that require clarification:
- There are two types of Tenergy RCR123As: (we all seem to know this)
- Yellow at 750mAh; and
- Blue at 900mAh
- Both are 3.0 volt batteries;
- One is LI Ion whilst the other is LifePo4;
- They require 2 totally different chargers:
- Yellow charges to 3.6V; whilst
- Blue charges to 4.2V
I will openly support PS. Why would we want to buy another charger etc...
That being said, the "Blues" do require a "special" charger, as a regular 4.2 charger will not do the trick, and is
strongly cautioned against using a regular 4.2 charger to charge "blue Tenergys"
The batts will charge to 3.85V in a couple of hours, which represents a 90% charge. Then the charger trickles for the remainder of the charge (orange LED phase) to 4.2V coming off the charger to settle back into a residual (word) voltage of 3.85-3.88 volts.
As stated, once fired, the delivered voltage drops to 3V within 12ms or 6V (when stacked)
When I first got these, I scared the living daylights out of myself (charged voltage) I contacted Tenergy technical and was told this is normal and is what is suppose to happen. I have yet to have a problem with them ((except that base on previous discussions, I do indeed suspect they are being stressed) (or are they?))<----- is the voltage pulsed, similar to the JoyE batts and the eGo?? I am not sure if this is relevant or not.
I have been testing AW LifePO4s. To date the data is inconclusive (for now). Both batt sets have been utilizing an SLB XHV 901 atty at 5.2Ohms. One thing I have been noticing is that the top battery is depleating further than the min voltage of 2.0V, usually at 1.8V whilst the bottom batt will come out of PV around 2.5-2.6V. The batts are changed out when I notice a decrease in vapour production.
The Tenergys on the other hand, when they quit, they quit. Only the last couple of hits have diminished, before they shut down.
Although my Tenergy (blue) only deliver 5.6-5.7V under load, they hit harder than the AW LifePOs with a constant 6V. This may very well be subjective, but I doubt it. I am really .... when it comes to "technical aspects" hence, is the Tenergy PCB pulsing the voltage delivered, or is the 12ms (full nominal voltage) delivered that acts like a "priming puff" because their is a substanstial difference, vice a subejctive one.
In closing, I am a fan of AWs and have learned much in the last couple of months. However I do prefer protected batts performance wise. I have yet to use IMRs and will probably do so when batt replacements are needed for my 16340 applications and lower.